On March 3rd, rangers learned that a 68-year-old man who’d left his spouse on the Grapevine Hills trail had not returned to the trailhead by the time darkness set in. They conducted a hasty search of the trail and established containment points around the area. Due to the hiker’s age, medical history, and lack of cold weather equipment (nighttime lows were predicted to dip into the low 20s), an incident command was established and the search was pursued through the night. A Texas Department of Public Safety aircraft with forward-looking infrared (FLIR) capabilities was requested and searched the area all night without finding the missing man. He was located around 8:30 a.m. the next morning near Balanced Rock, about 75 yards off trail. Investigation revealed that he’d lost the trail and become exhausted. When night fell, he huddled under a rock overhang, maintaining his body heat by wrapping his head with his jacket. He was found to be cold, tired and hungry, but in good health. Ranger Michael Ryan was the incident commander.
